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Thursday, June 11: As part of this year’s weeklong Capital Pride festivities (which culminate with a parade on Saturday and a street festival and concert on Sunday), a bachelor and bachelorette auction will be held at Town DanceBoutique. Proceeds from the auction benefit Capital Pride. Tickets to the event are $5 at the door. 9 PM.
Take two siblings, throw in a couple of banjos, a cello, and some foot-stomping, head-nodding folk-twinged rock, and you’ve got the Avett Brothers. They’re playing a show tonight at the Lisner Auditorium, and trust us, you don’t want to miss it—we caught them last fall and they put on one of our favorite shows of the year. 8 PM; $29.50. Tickets available here.
Who can resist ’80s movies? How about free ’80s movies, outside, that you’re encouraged to bike to? That just set off every happy trigger in our brain. Well, that’s what you get tonight at the Capitol Riverfront’s film series. It’s showing The Princess Bride, and the Washington Area Bicyclist Association will be there handing out swag and bike info. Movies start around 8:45 at Tingey Plaza (100 Tingey St., SE). Get more free film series here.
Friday, June 12: Feeling patriotic? Reserve a spot for the 8:45 PM Marine Corps Evening Parade. This 75-minute performance of music and precision marching is an excellent post-dinner activity for visiting veteran grandparents and kids with big military dreams. Although the event is free, guests arriving after 8 are not guaranteed seating, so make sure to get to the Marine Barracks (Eighth and I sts., SE) on time. Call 202-433-6060 for reservations, which are required.
It’s Capital Pride weekend, and RuPaul is in town. See the first-ever (we think, anyway!) supermodel drag queen perform at midnight at Town DanceBoutique. Before her show, there’s a drag act at 10. Tickets are $15 from 9 to 11, $20 afterward—you can buy them in advance at towndc.com.
Saturday, June 13: Founding Farmers has been hosting Whiskey Week (its own celebration of the liquor) and it wraps things up today with a happy hour featuring its new summer cocktails and a special cocktail of the day made with rye whiskey. 5 to 11 PM.
Liza Minnelli and Hairspray fans will absolutely want to make their way over to Hillwood Estate, where the Lesbian and Gay Chorus of Washington is putting on its annual From “Broadway to Hollywood” concert. Hear on-key versions of your favorite in-the-shower sing-alongs from 11 AM to noon, and then spend the rest of the afternoon strolling through Marjorie Merriweather Post’s lush gardens. Suggested donations of $12 for adults, $10 for seniors, and $7 for students will be collected at the door.
The party doesn’t stop after the parade. Celebrate the culmination of Capital Pride week with Capital Pride After Dark—the Last Dance. Drink, dance, and party under the stars from 9 PM until 2 AM at the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden. Tickets ($25) can be purchased here. Cash bar.
Make Piece, a DC nonprofit dedicated to raising low-income family wages by teaching locals in need how to make and market high-quality jewelry, is having its first-ever “fun-raiser” this Saturday night. Celebrate the graduation of its current class of students and watch the women model their jewelry designs at 1830 First Street, Northwest. The cover charge includes a deejay, complimentary catering, beer, wine, a surprise souvenir, and a chance to support an idea that helps fellow Washingtonians help themselves. 7 to 9:30 PM. $20 in advance, $22 at the door. Call 202-216-0053 or e-mail outreach@makepiece.org for ticket information.
Alice Waters, the California chef who spearheaded the organic movement in the ’70s, will sign her new book, Edible Schoolyard, at the National Museum of American History’s Stars and Stripes Cafe (14th St. and Constitution Ave., NW). Waters’s Edible Schoolyard program created a one-acre vegetable garden at a Berkeley public middle school that students tend, harvest, and eat from as part of the curriculum. The free signing runs from 1 to 4, and books will be available to buy.
Sunday, June 14: Make sure any Georgetown shopping sprees this weekend include a visit to Fresh Boutique (1205 Potomac St., NW) for complimentary mimosas, bagels, and brunch munchies and a chance to preview spring collections at Trunk Show & Mimosas. A portion of the sales from the event, which runs Sunday from 2 to 4, will benefit the 2009 Capitol Women’s Polo Challenge for Breast Cancer Campaign. Deals include nothing over $100, buy-two/get-one-free dresses, and a special gift with purchase from Starwood Hotels. Call 202-965-7115 for more details.
Radio talk-show personality Michael Medved hosts Bursting Bubbles, Bail-Outs, and Bounce-Backs, the Jewish Policy Center’s economic policy forum, at Sixth & I Historic Synagogue tonight at 7. Panelists include Stephen Moore of the Wall Street Journal, veteran economist Lacey Hunt of Hoisington Investment Management Co., and Douglas Holtz-Eakin, a former economic adviser to the John McCain’s presidential campaign. Even if you’re growing weary of recession-speak, consider the event an information arsenal for your next dinner party. Free to the public. RSVP to 202-368-6567.
Sarah is the Editor-in-Chief of Washingtonian Bride & Groom, and writes about weddings, fashion, and shopping. Her work has also appeared in Refinery29, Bethesda Magazine, and Washington City Paper, among others. She is a Georgetown University graduate, lives in Columbia Heights, and you can find her on Instagram at @washbridegroom and @sarahzlot.
